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Hulstro-Kazulian War
The Hulstro-Kazulian War '(Kazulianisk: ''Hulstro-Kazulian-krigen; Hulstro-Mikun: ザーミスハップ, Zā misuhappu, "The Mishap" or Dundorfian: Flacher Landkrieg "the Flat Land War") also known as the 'War for the People's Liberation '''was a conflict fought between Kazulia and Hulstria. Relations between Kazulia and its southern neighbour Hulstria had never fully normalised following the War for the Emperor's Protection. During the period of post conflict negotiations for peace it was agreed that the governments of Skalm and (then Miyako now Karlstadt) that the two nations would not engage in conflicts, especially those which pertain to internal conflicts being fought by the respective nations. In the years leading up to 4162, tensions between the government in Skalm and Karlstadt intensified. The formation of a Dundorfian-Hulstrian nationalist political party, known as the Royal Hulstrian Party (Dundorfian: ''Hulstrian Königliche Partei) reignited the nationalist flame within Mikuni-Hulstria. Championing the cause of Hulstrian nationalism and restoration of the dominance of Dundorfian-speaking Hulstrians in Mikuni-Hulstrian society, the Royal Hulstrian Party put forward several legislations aimed at achieving said objective of solidifying the purity and dominance of Dundorfian-speaking Hulstrians in the nation, thus putting pressure on Skalm for a closer union with Hulstrians in Kazulia. Skalm reiterated that the aggressive demands of the Hulstrian government would create the impetus for a casus belli ''and on 24th April 4262 Hulstria launched a of pre-preemptive strikes/attacks against Kazulia, thus bringing the conflict to life. It was a series of misconceptions and bureaucratic "slow downs" which set the impetus for the conflict's destructive nature. Pretext to Conflict After the War for the Emperor's Protection, both governments in Skalm and Miyako agreed that neither of the two would interfere into the affairs of the other. The period following saw significant silence from the government in Hulstria, however this silence was broken with the formation of the Royal Hulstrian Party. Upon taking power in Mikuni-Hulstria the party immediately launched a campaign against its Gao-Showan majority population, introducing the Citizens' Classification Act, the initial nail into the coffin towards conflict. The act bolstered Hulstrian supremacy in the nation as it designated pure Hulstrians and descendents of Hulstrians as Class A and B citizens respectively, leaving the majority Gao-Showan populus under the designation of Class C citizens, restricting them from obtaining noble titles, government offices and forming political parties. Soon, therefore in response to the government's suppression of the Gao-Showan majority in Hulstria, the international community placed significant pressure on the government of Hulstria to curb their suppression of the majority ethnic group. Nations such as Istalia and Kazulia were the first to lambaste Hulstria's oppressive nature. In June 4259, Hulstria signed a mutual defence agreement with Beiteynu. Although demands for a referendum were made by the Hulstrian government for closer political union with Hulstrians residing in Kazulia's southern provinces of Hent and Kelvon, it was not until the Hulstrian government issued an ultimatum, did the Kazulian government respond to the demands for the referendum, thus accentuating the possibility of Skalm's intentional ignoring of the demands as a means of allowing for the Hulstrians to create the impetus for conflict. Tensions between the two nations had reached their climax prior to Sigurbjoernsson's statements as the Imperial Armed Forces of Hulstria has been massing at the Hulstro-Kazulian border, deploying various sums of armoured vehicles and troops. Against a background of intensified exercises and increased conscription rates, Reichskanzler (at the time) Heinrich Otto-Mann had this to say pertaining to the decision of the Kazulian government to remain silent on his demands: "''No more words, I'm afraid. The sullen ignorance of the Kazulian government will be their downfall. We are now ready to take the action required to free our brethren. Our army is ready, our reserves are mobilised, our strategy is unsinkable. We are ready to liberate our people and take the next step towards our destiny of a Greater Hulstria." On the 1st of May 4262, the Reichstag sent a formal Declaration of War against Kazulia to Empress Beatrice II for royal ascension. On the 24th April 4262, the Imperial Crownlands of Hulstria formally declared war against the Kingdom of Kazulia and launched Operation Vanguard, thus kicking the conflict off to a harsh start. Combat Operations '''Hulstrian Preemptive Strike Through a three pronged assault, the Hulstrian Reichswehr initiated the invasion of Kazulia. Thousands of troops and another few thousand armoured vehicles and combat aircraft were committed to the preemptive strike. The invasion on the ground, consisting of around 200,000 troops, was spearheaded by the 23rd Light Armoured Brigade followed by the 2nd Armoured Division with a second assault being launched in eastern Kelvon hours later by the 8th Armoured Brigade and the 38th Mechanised Infantry Brigade, placing the invasion force on the gates to Lamond and Gna. Skalm had not placed enough forces on the border region. This was evident in the fact that the invasion force had little resistance other than the Border Security Agency, the National Police Services and the Home Guard contingents stationed near the border regions. During this time, the ground forces, without aerial support from the air-force, where forced to rely on the naval bombardments being conducted by the naval squadrons of the Hulstrian navy in the Kankawaran Bay. The invasion in the airspace over Kazulia had the participation of around 400 combat aircraft, the entire strength of the Imperial Hulstrian Air Force. Intelligence reports disclosed by the Kazulian Defence Ministry and the Hulstrian Defence Ministry highlighted the fact that during the initial launch of the aerial assault, 12% of the Hulstrian fighters committed to the assault were knocked down by Skjǫldr-2 missile defence systems installed on the border regions since the years prior to the War for the Emperor's Protection. Kazulian Counter-Offensive The invasion had caught Defence Command off guard as they did not anticipate the Hulstrians to (1) launch a preemptive attack and (2) employ a human wave strategy. Upon receiving news that the invasion forces had already reached at the gates of Lamond and Gna, Defence Minister Steinar Overbey and Chief of Defence Staff Reidar Valebrokk convened to form a counter-offensive which would immediately turn the tide of the invasion. On 11th May, 4262, the Kongeforsvar launched a simultaneous assault on the invasion force, owing to the long established doctrine of the Kongefrosvar to confuse the enemy by strike on multiple positions. Coined Operation Delayed Response, the operation consists of three smaller operations: * Operation DUCK HUNTER involved the execution of massive airstrikes which destroyed the majority of the Imperial Hulstrian Air Force on the ground. * Operation OCEAN SWORD involved the destruction of the majority of the Imperial Hulstrian Navy in the docked at the naval station in Furaida. * Operation DOWNFALL encompassed the various operations of the Home Guard responsible for pushing the Reichswehr out of Kazulia. The aim of the counter-offensive was to encircle and destroy the main components of the invasion force. The Home Guard exploited the collapse of the Hulstrian front line to encircle Hulstrian formations in the vicinity of northern Hulstria. For the first time the Home Guard applied the Dorvish military strategy of Auftragstaktik which gave junior officers the planning initiative and a freedom in execution which allows a high degree of flexibility at the operational and tactical levels of command. Upon acknowledging that they had moved too far for logistics, the Home Guard withdrew from the positions they had encircled in northern Hulstria, thus allowing for the initiation of Operation Bone Dust by Defence Command. Invasion of Hulstria On the morning of June 17th, the Home Guard concluded Operation Bone Dust, which resulted in a return to the previous border status quo and the forced conclusion of Hulstrian military operations in Kazulia. On that same morning, under Operation Silent Eagle, Kazulian jets launched a series of sorties against Hulstrian positions in the northern countryside of Hulstria and Budenlar. The airstrikes knocked out artillery batteries and storehouses and forced transport columns off the roads. The Hulstrians suffered serious causalities and a drop in moral. About 2 hours posterior to the airstrikes, the 10 divisions of the Royal Army, commanded by Chief of Defence Staff General Reidar Valebrokk, advanced into Hulstria and Budenlar. The advance was spearheaded by the Engineering Corps and the Armoured Corps which used bulldozers and main battle tanks to clear away barbed wire and mines. As they advanced, they came under fire from the Hulstrian Army Group A. Whilst the divisions in the north advanced, the Kazulian 1st Draddwyr Brigade, the 2nd Kultivert Brigade and the 1st Jeger Brigade launched an amphibious assault on the western coastline of Budenlar capturing the sectors north of the Furaida Naval Station, where a beachhead had been established after desperate fighting. On the eastern borderline of Hulstria, five Kazulian airborne brigades launched an airborne assault against the cities of Numamura and Kourien, which had been supported by close air support (CAS) strikes by the Air-Force. On November 2nd, the 10 Divisions sent into Hulstria and Budenlar, captured the northern countryside after months of fighting. The divisions had placed the Hulstrian Army Group A on the retreat to the defensive line established by the Reichswehr under Operation Stormwarden. Fearing that pausing their forward advance would allow for the Hulstrians to mount a counter-offensive, General Valebrokk commanded 7 Divisions to initiate a chase of the retreating Hulstrian force, with 3 Divisions remaining behind the advancing force to sweep throughout Kazulian controlled territory for pockets of resistance. On the western coastline, the amphibious assault had been reinforced by the 3rd Draddwyr Brigade and the 2nd and 3rd Jeger Brigades commanded by Major General Michael Steenrod. Navigational errors placed the airborne assault directly above Hulstrian guns. In the fighting that followed, both sides took heavy casualties, with the Kazulians retreating to into the captured province of Hulstria, which resulted in the loss of an entire brigade of the five (5) brigades initially deployed. In response to the slow down of the momentum of Silent Eagle, 270,000 reserves of the Royal Army were deployed and rapidly mobilised into the front to support the advance of the initial invasion force. On the front of 'Liberation and Vengeance', it was concluded in a memorandum of understanding that Kazulia would assist in training the militia members of the paramilitary group. On quickly addressing the issue, General Valebrokk had this to say: "Liberation and Vengeance will play an extremely important role operations to come, operations which are centred/focused on the southern end of Hulstria." Conclusion International Intervention Aftermath